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Old 07-05-2017, 11:33 PM   #1
dds_ks
 
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Default Golem Mages?

I'm just wondering whether there could be Golem Mages.

Gurps Magic says that the standard Golem is a Clay Golem, but more experienced mages could use other materials and add other properties, that the standard Golem doesn't have. So this might possibly include some levels of magery, and instead of skills, the Golem could have spells.

But then, there's the Feature: "Golems don't have and never spend any FP."

Does that mean that a Golem could never cast a spell?


This sounds quite theoretical, but think about the possibilities of Golem spellcasters: They could be Enchanters!

Give your first set of Golems enough Magery to ensure all spells on 15 with just one CP in each of those spells to make them enchanting assistants, give them one spell of ten colleges, enchant and golem, add as much Energy Reserve as you can afford, and reduce their stats (especially ST) so that they still end up at -60 CP: Producing them would cost just 130 FP.
After producing a set of those assistants, use them to produce Enchanting Masters. Add as much Magery as you can afford without reducing ST and HT to levels at which a short glimpse would have the momentum to destroy them, then they could have lots of assistants.

And if you have enought enchanting teams, have them produce magic items. Of course, they can't learn, so they couldn't produce everything. But among their first 10 spells there should be something useful, and maybe you would give them more than 10 spells.

If this were possible, I think that industrial magic had a problem...
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Old 07-05-2017, 11:39 PM   #2
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

A Golem with Magery could still use a Powerstone, if you wanted to build one that way. Or activate self-powered magic items.
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Old 07-06-2017, 04:32 AM   #3
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

They can spend Hit Points, can't they?
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Old 07-06-2017, 04:35 AM   #4
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

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Originally Posted by simply Nathan View Post
A Golem with Magery could still use a Powerstone...
Yes, powerstones could be the solution. As a powerstone regenerates one FP per day in normal mana, it could provide enough energy for a slow enchantment. And to have the Golem work around the clock, 3 Powerstones of just one FP each could allow the Golem to work 3 shifts on different magic items.

Well, this would need some recharging logistic (minimum distance between powerstones), but that should be solvable.
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Old 07-06-2017, 04:45 AM   #5
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

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They can spend Hit Points, can't they?
Yes, they could, but I don't think that's a good idea: They cannot heal naturally, and only the caster originally making the Golem can heal it magically.
But the idea was that after producing some of them, they could "replicate" even when unattended and then at some point could be ordered to produce other magic items instead of new Golems.

Maybe if a cascade of healing spells would be provided (Golem of 6th generation gets twice the number of hit points that Golem of 5th generation invests to heal it, Golem of 5th generation is healed by 4th generation, ... and the original caster finally heals the Golem of 1st generation).
But that makes things very complicated, and the original caster needs to visit the manufacturing site quite often.
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Old 07-06-2017, 05:17 AM   #6
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

Could a Golem have ER (Magical) though? Golems can't have FP for the same reasons machines can't, they're literally infatiguable, but ER sidesteps this consideration completely.

Edit:
Quote:
Originally Posted by dds_ks View Post
Yes, they could, but I don't think that's a good idea: They cannot heal naturally, and only the caster originally making the Golem can heal it magically.
But the idea was that after producing some of them, they could "replicate" even when unattended and then at some point could be ordered to produce other magic items instead of new Golems.

Maybe if a cascade of healing spells would be provided (Golem of 6th generation gets twice the number of hit points that Golem of 5th generation invests to heal it, Golem of 5th generation is healed by 4th generation, ... and the original caster finally heals the Golem of 1st generation).
But that makes things very complicated, and the original caster needs to visit the manufacturing site quite often.
Golems have Cannot Learn and Reprogrammable... if you don't want Golem mages making golem mages who make golems, don't program them with the Golem spell... Though, Duplication (Shared Resources)... For a living pile of dirt that can split into multiple living piles of dirt could work. X3

Last edited by WhiteFox1618; 07-06-2017 at 05:23 AM.
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Old 07-06-2017, 09:01 AM   #7
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

The book Zombies clarifies the rule for "No Fatigue".

I don't want to post what the book has to say about it, but I can summarize it with, yes, you can buy Fatigue for your golem as it is assumed to have zero. Once you do that you can spend fatigue on the golem, mechanically.

HOWEVER, from a fluff perspective, most likely this will not be powered like the fatigue of a person, especially since the golem itself is not breathing, tiring, etc. So what you would probably explain it as is some sort of powerstone or battery in the golem that charges from mana in the area or similar.

You can accomplish that in a few ways. You can deem it a special recharge condition on the Energy Reserve, you can also give the Golem dependency on mana, etc. It's up to you.

Keep in mind, Golems in GURPS Magic are a default take on golems, you can turn them into whatever you want. If you get rid of Cannot Learn or Reprogrammable or both, you can easily call it a Homonculus or similar.
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Old 07-06-2017, 09:09 AM   #8
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

Quote:
Originally Posted by WhiteFox1618 View Post
Could a Golem have ER (Magical) though? Golems can't have FP for the same reasons machines can't, they're literally infatiguable, but ER sidesteps this consideration completely.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GodBeastX View Post
I don't want to post what the book has to say about it, but I can summarize it with, yes, you can buy Fatigue for your golem as it is assumed to have zero. Once you do that you can spend fatigue on the golem, mechanically.

HOWEVER, from a fluff perspective, most likely this will not be powered like the fatigue of a person, especially since the golem itself is not breathing, tiring, etc. So what you would probably explain it as is some sort of powerstone or battery in the golem that charges from mana in the area or similar.

You can accomplish that in a few ways. You can deem it a special recharge condition on the Energy Reserve, you can also give the Golem dependency on mana, etc. It's up to you.
The difference between extra FP that isn't burned via exertion and ER is probably academic.

I'd personally require spell casting golems, even enchanters, to be its own specialized spell, with the requirement of the golem spell. And It'd likely be just a touch more expensive than its predecessor. I believe its been said standard magic is balanced with FP costs, not with prerequisites.
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Old 07-06-2017, 10:29 AM   #9
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

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Originally Posted by ericthered View Post
The difference between extra FP that isn't burned via exertion and ER is probably academic.
Mechanically golems CAN have fatigue and still not lose it for metabolic reasons. That was what Zombie clarified. It's basically 30 Point immunity to metabolic costs and then -30 for selling off all your fatigue which balances to 0. If you buy back the 30 points of fatigue, you can spend it on extra effort and such mechanically, but that doesn't mean it should be allowed.
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Old 07-06-2017, 06:43 PM   #10
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Default Re: Golem Mages?

Quote:
Originally Posted by dds_ks View Post
Yes, they could, but I don't think that's a good idea: They cannot heal naturally, and only the caster originally making the Golem can heal it magically.
But the idea was that after producing some of them, they could "replicate" even when unattended and then at some point could be ordered to produce other magic items instead of new Golems.

Maybe if a cascade of healing spells would be provided (Golem of 6th generation gets twice the number of hit points that Golem of 5th generation invests to heal it, Golem of 5th generation is healed by 4th generation, ... and the original caster finally heals the Golem of 1st generation).
But that makes things very complicated, and the original caster needs to visit the manufacturing site quite often.
Self-replicating golems sounds like an interesting adventuring scenario, IMHO, especially if the enchanter who set it up has died, or otherwise did not return when they intended. Much slower than what happened to poor Mickey in 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice,' though.
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